NRHA's product knowledge training
programs for employees are designed
to give store associates the information they need to be productive right from the
start. We offer training programs in core hardware and building materials categories
and it's free to all NRHA members.

CNRG Announces Plans for Growth in the Gulf

September 7, 2012

Central Network Retail Group, LLC (CNRG) continues to expand its business across the South and Gulf Coast region with its recent acquisition of an Ace Hardware store in Mississippi and plans for opening a new store in Louisiana.

CNRG converted and rebranded the Ace Hardware it acquired in Monticello, Miss., to a Home Hardware Center. The store has a 14,000 square-foot salesfloor with a large assortment of hardware, paint, electrical, plumbing, tools, lawn & garden, and home organization items. A grand reopening celebration for the new location is scheduled for Sept. 28.

Additionally, construction is already underway to prepare the site of a future store in Rayville, La., which is expected to open in November with a 14,000 square-foot salesfloor. In addition to the normal assortment of hardware, paint, electrical, plumbing, tools, lawn & garden and home organization items, this store will feature a drive-thru lumberyard with a full assortment of lumber and building materials.

“We are excited about the growth of our Home Hardware Center stores,” CNRG Chairman Jimmy R. Smith said. “With these stores we now operate 22 stores under the Home Hardware Center brand in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.”

The company is building a multi-format, multi-brand operating company through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. It currently operates 38 home center and hardware stores in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and North Carolina under the Home Hardware Center, Morrison Terrebonne Lumber Center, NFL Home Center, Elliott’s Hardware, and Town & Country Hardware brands.

“We are working on growth plans for each of the brands we currently operate as well as assessing opportunities to acquire other brands in new markets,” CNRG President Boyden Moore said. “We are excited about this step forward in our growth and look forward to more to come.”